Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Look-Pours a rich, espresso brown with an impressive two fingers of dark brown head that retains very well.Smell- A very complex, smooth, coffee dominates the aroma, with notes of chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg.Taste-Toasty malt flavors quickly followed by the sophisticated Vietnamese coffee, classic, fine coffee taste blended with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.Feel-Medium bodied. not thin but surprisingly crisp, high carbonation, finishes slightly creamy. very unexpected feel in the best way.Overall- one of the best stouts i've ever had. (544 characters)

I don't really even drink coffee on it's own, but this makes me want to try Vietnamese coffee. The coffee flavor on this one is undoubtedly the strongest, bold, and warmest coffee flavor I've ever gotten out of a beer. It's got an almost condensed milk flavor, with vanilla cream, hazelnut, walnut, chocolate, big roasted malt flavor, lactose. The coffee is nutty, creamy, milky, freshly roasted, and slightly bitter, and just unbelievably rich and complex. Get the picture? Amazing.

This has an amazing mouthfeel, rich, with a deadly amount of creaminess and silkiness, almost feels like velvet melting in my mouth. It's sweet, but not cloyingly so, with a lower level of carbonation. It's drinkable and crushable, but you don't really want to, because you never want the glass to end.

This is honestly one of the best stouts I've ever had. I'm speechless, this is the definition of next level. (1,205 characters)

A - Jet black pour with creamy thick head that slowly dissapates. S - Fudge brownie, cocoa nibs, slight coffee, toffee, roasted malts.T - Fantastic! Everything blends perfectly. Coffee mixes well with the chocolate and alcohol is very hidden... sneaky sneaky.M - Slightly overcarbonated, but it was shipped from San Diego.. so I'll let it slide. O - A bit better than Jamaica Blue in my opinion. Amazing dessert beer that would also pair with stu, roasted meats all the way to cheesecake. Pure deliciousness. (543 characters)

The beer reminds me of what a coffee stout should or if Founders Breakfast Stout was actually deserving of its rating.

The beer offers more than the base beer with a huge amount of coffee and almost a creamy flavor. Lots of chocolate balances out the bitterness of the coffee. A full mouthfeel, but the beer is still quite drinkable. The beer drinks under 10%.

Notes taken from 9/29 from the craziest bottle share that i have ever been a part of. Thanks so much to the NYC and Hoboken crew for letting me participate in this incredible day of drinking long time wants and insanity.

Thanks kindly to Mike for sharing (and evilc for hooking mike up on this one).

Pours a viscous chocolate brown with a mocha colored head. Nose of fresh ground, earthy coffee, cocoa, and powdery chocolate. Rich, creamy body, soft carbonation and smooth roasty finish. No acidity or acrid notes in the flavor, just overload of baker's chocolate, fresh ground coffee, earthy and light roast, vanilla and cocoa. I expected this to just be regular Speedway with a slightly different coffee flavor but this greatly exceeded those expectations. (488 characters)

Reviewing the Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout from AleSmith Brewing Company out of San Diego, California.

Score: 97

Bottled 08/05/13. Served in a Surly Darkness chalice and enjoyed on 01/23/13.

Appearance: Jet black in color. Pours two fingers of khaki head that recede to thin, coating layer and thick ring around the glass. Great lacing and retention. This is a beautiful looking stout. 5/5

Smell: Milk chocolate, high percentage cacao dark chocolate, vanilla, cake batter, molasses, raisins and dried dark fruits. There are undertones of coffee, but they are much subtler than you would expect from a coffee stout. A little cinnamon comes across too. The doughy cake, vanilla and cacao notes are surprisingly prominent relative to the coffee character -- I was expecting roast and a big blast of coffee based on the last time I had this beer -- but the heavy dose of cacao and vanilla is welcome surprise. Everything here is in perfect balance, and the dark fruit character mixes in seamlessly unlike regular Speedway Stout. This nose is absolutely incredible. 5/5

Taste: There's the coffee I was expecting! Upfront hits a big blast of smooth, bitter roast and chocolatey coffee flavor that lingers long. Delightfully creamy, not that acidic. There's a big dark fruit character on the back half that's not nearly as neatly integrated as it was in the nose at first. Notes of bakers chocolate, oak and molasses too. The dark fruit mellows out and blends in to the rest of the beer much better as the brew warms up. In fact, by room temp, all the flavors blend wonderfully and more chocolate notes come through. No booziness; I would never guess that this is 12% ABV. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Not quite full bodied, but nicely viscous. Carbonation level is spot on. Very creamy mouthfeel with a dry finish. Has some sweetness towards the finish, which counterbalances the upfront bitterness nicely. Can't ask for much more in the mouthfeel department than this in a stout. 5/5

Overall: A really excellent stout from Alesmith that is better than any of their barrel aged projects, and a major step up from the base beer, in my opinion. While not quite up to the level of the Kopi Luwak variant, this twist on Speedway Stout is excellent in its own way. The bitterness here is quite appetizing, and the dark fruit, molasses and chocolate mix well balancing the sweet and bitter characters. My recommendation is that you drink this one on the warmer side. Proceed with caution, however, as this beer is dangerously dome-able.

Shared a bottle with my son, poured into Snifters. Oh My God! This is amazing...

A- Pour is a thick, viscous black, with a finger or so of frothy head that lasts about two minutes. It leaves behind a nice lacing.

S- Wow! The cocoa and coffee coming off this is fantastic! Just perfectly balanced and oh so pleasing.

T- I am taken back to childhood when I stole a piece of my moms baking cocoa thinking it would be sweet chocolate, boy was I wrong. Thats exactly what I get here (in the best way ever!). The darkest most bitter cocoa joined by a slightly sweet coffee. As it warms there's just a hint of alcohol and some dark fruit adding just a touch to the sweetness while never actually becoming sweet. I know that sounds strange but I couldn't describe it as sweet, even though there's a bit of that going on.

O- Just fantastic. I can't really think of anything I'd like to see that's not already here. May have even picked up a bit of vanilla somewhere. This makes me want to get some Vietnamese coffee! So glad I have another bottle in the cellar... (1,183 characters)

This may be the best speedway variation I have ever tried. Chris from Belmont Station was kind enough to bring several coffee variations, as well as the bourbon barrel aged version. Everything was delicious and amazing, but this beer seemed to have a light creamy flavor profile that the others lacked.

This is definitely right up there with some of the very best coffee imperial stouts I've ever tried. Very, very impressive. (432 characters)

Poured into a snifter, 50 degrees. As is, creamy nose, milk stout like smell. Taste was coffee infused, high bitterness. Light tan head that dissipates quickly. As the beer warms the nose and taste switch. Nose became slightly boozy, yet the taste became smooth and creamy. Great till the last drop, my only regret is that I only had one (345 characters)

The beer is black with a half inch of mocha head. The aroma is fabulous. A huge blast of gourmet coffee right up front, followed by delectable roast and chocolate tones. Terrific flavor. Definitely a coffee lover's stout. Rich and full bodied with lingering roast and chocolate covered coffee beans. Solid carbonation level. Thick and viscous, this beer coats the palate. Overall, this was fantastic. Met and exceeded my high expectations. (488 characters)

A - Dark just like all the others with a solid half inch mocha foam head

S - Huge notes of milk chocolate and coffee with hints of vanilla

T - Taste follows the nose as I thought this blended really well and brought out the milky chocolate flavors that blended perfectly with the coffee. Lack of bitterness was fine for me and with ten months this was tasting fantastic

M - medium body medium carb

O - Overall this was better then JBM by a good bit. This really is more than I expected. Fantastic coffee stout (584 characters)

A really nice addition to the variant family. Black thick oily like pour. Mouth feel was viscous yet smooth.. Smell of the coffee predominates. Get the coffee coming thru in this beer in the finish but not overpowering. I am not a coffee drinker but this beer was great. (270 characters)

Opaque black with a dark tan foam that drapes the glass in lace. Huge walls of sweet coffee and chocolate in the nose. Intense layers of cocoa and chocolate accompany roasty, aromatic coffee and citrusy hop bitterness. Milkshake thick mouthfeel. Very complex and impossibly drinkable for the ABV.

World class stout. So delicious. A must try, like the original Speedway Stout. (383 characters)

Pours a pitch black with a slight beige head. The smell is amazing...its like a blend of vanilla and coffee that seemingly makes a whole new aroma i've never had the pleasure of enjoying before now. The taste is also, thankfully, just as it smells. Real creamy and that vanillay/coffee/chocolate blend just works wonders on my palate. Full bodied but the alcohol is completely hidden. real treat to drink.

Overall possibly my new favorite imperial stout that i've tried. I really, really dug the blend of flavors on this one.

Amazing, world class, make every effort to try this beer. (620 characters)

T- fresh coffee up front, perhaps the freshest coffee flavor that I've experienced form a beer and very coffee-forward. Beyond the coffee, some chocolate notes begin to kick in followed by some slightly smoky notes. More coffee on the finish that continues to sit fresh on the palate

M- medium body with low carbonation leads to a slick mouthfeel and finish

O- one of the best coffee flavors I've ever had from a stout, the freshness of the flavor is just ridiculous and meshes very well with the chocolate flavors, alcohol is also hidden very well (919 characters)

Poured into a snifter from a 32 oz. growler. Huge thanks to anotherjoe for this.

4.5 A: Black color. Two fingers of mainly cream, minorly frothy tan head. Retention is pretty good given the ABV and plenty of lacing is left, which is impressive given the coffee.

5.0 S: This smells amazing. I can't really remember what the regular Speedway smells like at the moment, but I'm just going to say that this is different and better. The coffee is sweeter and more chocolatety. Supple roast, caramel, light molasses, chocolate, sweet neutral maltiness. Big pithy coconut, vanilla, and a lactose-like creaminess.

From 11/17/12 notes. Huge thanks to yourefragile for sharing a growler of this one; thanks Michael! This was a nice surprise and one of my favorites of the night. 32 oz. growler into a tulip. Sampled side by side with a fresh normal Speedway Stout.

a - Pours a dark brown, almost black color, with one inch of dark tan head and low carbonation evident. Looks great.

s - Smells amazing, smells of super fresh coffee, vanilla, sweet chocolate, coconut, roasted malts, cream, bakers chocolate, caramel, and some toasted malts. Amazing nose; the coffee smells wonderful and sweet, and there was a very nice mix of sweet vanilla and chocolate to it as well. Perfect nose for me.

t - Tastes of fresh sweet coffee, cocoa, vanilla, sweet milk chocolate, roasted malts, toasted malts, espresso, cream, and light coconut. Taste has less coconut than the nose and is a little roastier, but still great.

m - Medium body and low carbonation. Easy to drink beer that doesn't feel like it is 12% ABV.

o - Overall a fantastic beer and an amazing improvement on the already great Speedway stout. While I still enjoy BA speedway more, I liked this one more than the Kopi Luwak version I've had in the past. Ton of awesome fresh coffe mixing with sweet vanilla and chocolate. Would love to have this one again and finding that pretty much any variation of Speedway seems to be awesome. (1,371 characters)